"Fabulous, fascinating, and flawed comedy...The production benefits greatly from the performances of the two leads...Jiménez has never lacked creative ambition and is going after something important and rare with 'Bruise & Thorn': a depiction of queer life that does doesn't fall back on fussy manners, but looks forward to total liberation...While it seems to be building up to something big, 'Bruise & Thorn' descends into a confusing pageant of vogueing and other queer tropes as the already porous border between fantasy and reality breaks down completely."
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It's a fairy tale, really, albeit one that takes in illegal cockfighting, smuggled hormones, sexual exploitation, and a couple of murders -- including one by animal stampede -- before gliding to a happy ending on the stage of America's Got Talent. If the action is sometimes borderline incoherent -- one of my notes simply states, "What just happened?" -- the playwright, C. Julian Jiménez, and the director, Jesse Jou, have plenty of nerve and the talent to back it up.
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C. Julian Jiménez’s Bruise & Thorn is not for everyone. Older theatergoers may be put off by both the raw language and street slang that they will not know. However, if you want to be aware of what the younger playwrights and audience members are thinking, you cannot afford to miss this over-the-top Queer Ball event. Pipeline Theatre Company’s production has to be seen to be believed.
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